Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Fulton Bank N.A.

Fulton Bank N.A. cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 13.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,486 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,814 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,959,065,000 after purchasing an additional 163,975 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,945,500,000 after purchasing an additional 63,919 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $922,728,000 after purchasing an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Valero Energy by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,243,630,000 after purchasing an additional 516,975 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Trading Up 5.5%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $314.58 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $130.78 and a 1-year high of $320.24. The company has a market cap of $90.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $277.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $244.24.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 39.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.